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Background: An exercise-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme (CRP) is established as adjuvant therapy in heart failure (HF), nevertheless it is underutilized, especially in the elderly. While the functional and hemodynamic effects of CRP are well known, its underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully clarified. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of a well-structured 4-week CRP in patients with stable HF from a molecular point of view., Results: A prospective longitudinal observational study was conducted on patients consecutively admitted to cardiac rehabilitation. In fifty elderly HF patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), levels of sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and of its targets, the antioxidants catalase (Cat) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum were measured before (Patients, P) and at the end of the CRP (Rehabilitated Patients, RP), showing a rise of their activities after rehabilitation. Endothelial cells (ECs) were conditioned with serum from P and RP, and oxidative stress was induced using hydrogen peroxide. An increase of Sirt1 and Cat activity was detected in RP-conditioned ECs in both the absence and presence of oxidative stress, together with a decrease of senescence, an effect not observed during Sirt1 and Cat inhibition., Conclusions: In addition to the improvement in functional and hemodynamic parameters, a supervised exercise-based CRP increases Sirt1 activity and stimulates a systemic antioxidant defence in elderly HFpEF patients. Moreover, CRP produces antioxidant and anti-senescent effects in human endothelial cells mediated, at least in part, by Sirt1 and its target Cat.

The present study investigated the effect of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, rs1544410 A/G and rs2228570 C/T, in modulating bone mineral density (BMD) and the response to treatment with bisphosphonates or strontium ranelate in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO). Four hundred eighteen postmenopausal women from Southern Italy treated with bisphosphonates or strontium ranelate for three years were enrolled and stratified according to their genotype. Changes in BMD were expressed as the delta t-score (Δt-score). Allelic frequencies for rs1544410 A/GSNP were 11.2% AA, 50.0% GA and 38.8% GG; for rs2228570 C/TSNP were 54.8% CC, 39.5% TC and 5.7% TT. TT carriers showed a lower t-score than TC and CC (both p < 0.02) genotypes and were more responsive to the therapy when compared to both TC (p < 0.02) and CC (p < 0.05) carriers. Specifically, TT carriers receiving alendronate demonstrated a significant improvement of the Δt-score compared to TC and CC (both p < 0.0001) carriers. After adjustment for confounders, the Δt-score showed evidence of a statistically significant positive association with TT in all treatments considered. Therapy response was independent of rs1544410 A/G SNP; instead, rs2228570 C/TSNP was associated with a better response to antiresorptive treatment, thus suggesting that the therapy for PMO should be personalized.

Purpose: Moderate aerobic exercise reduces oxidative stress, whereas intense physical activity may produce the opposite result. At present, the effects of different exercise loads on oxidative stress markers and the response of human cells to different exercise volumes have not been fully elucidated., Methods: Human (Eahy-926) endothelial cells (EC), exposed or not exposed to oxidative stress, were conditioned with sera from two groups of triathletes practicing at different workloads., Results: Although no differences in functional and hemodynamic variables were observed between the two groups of triathletes, significant changes in some markers for oxidative stress were found in their sera. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and superoxide dismutase activity were similar, but triathletes practicing the sport at lower volume (T1) had higher serum nitric oxide and lower catalase activity than triathletes performing the training at greater load (T2). The EC conditioned with serum from T1 (T1-EC) showed higher survival and proliferation rates and lower senescence levels than the EC supplemented with T2 (T2-EC) serum both before and after oxidative stress induction. These effects depended on catalase as demonstrated via enzyme activity inhibition using 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole. After oxidative stress induction, Sirt1 activity, a regulator of the oxidative stress response, was significantly increased in the T1-EC but not in the T2-EC. Moreover, the T1-EC required less catalase activity than the T2-EC to counteract an equal amount of oxidative stress after H2O2 administration., Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise are eliminated when the training is performed at a greater workload. Moreover, we suggest an oxidative stress marker, serum catalase activity, as a valid tool to use in the supervision of changes to exercise volume.

Purpose: Exercise training is a nonpharmacological intervention that improves cardiovascular function and enhances endothelial homeostasis in patients with cardiovascular diseases. However, the amount of benefit achieved varies widely depending on the type and duration of exercise. Moreover, data about the long-term effects of physical activity are scarce., Methods: In this study, endothelial cells, exposed or not to oxidative stress, were conditioned with sera from athletes regularly participating in sports classified as "aerobic" (triathlon), "mixed aerobic-anaerobic" (soccer), and "anaerobic" (sprint running)., Results: Functional and hemodynamic variables did not differ between groups of athletes, whereas there were dramatic changes in serum markers for oxidative stress. Lipid peroxidation assessed by the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay and catalase activity were the lowest and nitric oxide availability was the highest in sera of triathletes. Endothelial cells cultured in serum from triathletes (T-endothelial cells) had the highest survival, evaluated by viability assay, BrdU incorporation, and senescence-associated β galactosidase assays, and preserved the endothelial appearance before and after stress in contrast to the cells grown in sera from the other athletes. T-endothelial cells also had the highest catalase messenger RNA expression and, after stress, the highest catalase activity of all the endothelial cells. Moreover, poststress activity of Sirt1, a NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase involved in cellular stress resistance and a key regulator of longevity, was significantly increased in T-endothelial cells., Conclusions: Different types of exercise training induced different molecular effects in terms of survival, morphology, and antioxidant system efficiency. The in vitro technique used herein may help to shed light on the molecular basis of effects of long-term physical activity in humans.

The synthesis and the pharmacological activity of a series of 1-aroyl derivatives of kynurenic acid methyl ester (4-oxo-quinolin-2-carboxy methyl (KYNA) esters), structurally related to NSAID indomethacin are described. The derivatives were screened in vivo for anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Most of the compounds exhibited good anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. An automatic docking of the synthesized compounds was performed using X-ray structures of COX-1 and COX-2. Docking results are in good accordance with the experimental biological data.

The aim of this study was to test the effects of age and chronic exercise training on antioxidant and heat shock protein (Hsp) expression by comparing the hearts of young (Y), sedentary old (SO) and trained old (TO) rats. In SO rats, there were: (a) changes in myocardial structure and function; (b) increased malondialdehyde levels; (c) no changes in superoxide-dismutase (SOD) enzymes; (d) reduced Hsp70 expression; and (e) increased Hsp27 expression. In TO rats, SOD enzymes and Hsp70 expression were increased and Hsp27 was further increased. Malondialdehyde level did not differ between TO and SO rats, which shows that chronic exercise did not affect the peroxidation index. In summary, by increasing Hsp27 and Hs70 levels, prolonged exercise partially counterbalanced the heart age-related effects in the antioxidant system without altering peroxidation levels. These findings suggest that the beneficial effects on aged-related cardiovascular changes could be connected to the "anti-oxidant" effects of prolonged exercise training.

Two series of N-[5-oxo-4-(arylsulfonyl)-4,5-dihydro-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-amides were synthesized and tested in vivo for their analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. All the new compounds possess good antalgic action in the acetic acid writhing test and some terms of the series showed also fair anti-inflammatory activity in the carrageenan rat paw edema test. Ulcerogenic and irritative action on the gastrointestinal mucose, in comparison with indomethacin is low.

Three series of N-acyl and N-cyclohexyl- or N-methyl or N-phenyl-thioureas of 4-substituted (methyl, phenyl, 2-pyridyl)piperazines (4-12) were synthesised according to a highly convergent one-pot procedure and tested in vivo (local anaesthetic, anti-hyperlipoproteinemic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiarrythmic activities) and in vitro (antiaggregating and, for some selected derivatives, antiproliferative activities) experiments. All the test compounds showed local anaesthesia in particular 4Ar(4), 5Ar(4), 12Ar(3) (after 5 min) and 5Ar(2), 5Ar(3), 9Ar(4) (after 30 min) were equipotent to lidocaine. In lowering triglyceride levels, compounds 6Ar(4) and 7Ar(3) were more active than nicotinic acid, whereas 7Ar(4) and 11Ar(4) were approximately equipotent. As concerns analgesic activity, 5Ar(2) and 5Ar(4) were as active as indomethacin. Appreciable anti-inflammatory activity was found in 8Ar(1), 5Ar(2) and 11Ar(2), but inferior to that of indomethacin. High levels of antiarrythmic activity, comparable with that of quinidine, were found in derivatives 4Ar(2) and 10Ar(1). Compounds 4Ar(2) and 8Ar(2), assayed in antitumor in vitro screening system at National Cancer Institute (NCI), showed significant antiproliferative activity against ACHN cell line (GI50: 0.13 microM) and NCI-H226 cell line (GI50: 1.03 microM), respectively.

A series of 2-aryl-3-phenylamino-4,5-dihydro-2H-benz[g]indazoles was synthesized and tested for antiarrhythmic, local anaesthetic and analgesic activity. The title compounds showed a good antinociceptive activity.